The Swedes, exhausted after forced marching, went to camp and were cooking supper when the news came of a large Russian army[4] with 16 artillery pieces nearby. The Swedes, who themselves had 17 artillery pieces[2] quickly deployed into battle formation and, encouraged by General Lewenhaupt, attacked the Russians. Although suffering severe setbacks on their right flank, the assault continued. On the left, the Swedish cavalry charged and broke the Russians. The infantry in the centre fired carefully at point-blank range and then charged, pushing their foes back in disorder. The battle ended in a confused melee, which was eventually won by the Swedes. The Russian cavalry withdrew while the infantry was destroyed by a combined-arms assault.
Aftermath
Field Marshal Sheremetev had received a shot in the abdomen and General Baur was wounded in the thigh. Over 5,000 Russians were killed or wounded.[2][3]
When the defeated army reached Vilna, the Tsar surveyed his newly formed 60,000 men. The tsar, Peter the Great, was far from reprimanding the field marshal for this defeat. He realized that it was possible to lose a battle against the Swedes despite being three times superior. And since he could raise a new army at any time, some of which were compulsorily recruited farmers and Livonian expellees, he knew that the campaign against the Swedes could be won.
Peter the Great called this defeat a "minor misfortune" of no great significance, even in his diaries he mentions the battle only in passing. He hid the real losses from his own troops and marched with his newly formed army towards Livonia to finally defeat the Swedes. The losses of the Swedes were given as 900 dead and over 1,000 wounded.[2]
In addition, several high-ranking officers were killed or seriously wounded in action. Therefore it was not possible for the Swedes to pursue the Russian army.
Alf Åberg & Göte Göransson "Karoliner" p. 114 - 115
^Peter Ullgren, Det stora nordiska kriget 1700-1721 (2008) Stockholm, Prisma. p. 128. ISBN978-91-518-5107-5
^ abcdefgThe Battle of Gemäuerthof, 16 July 1705, H.E. Uddgren. "Karolinska Förbundets Årsbok 1913" (Translated by Dan Schorr)
^ abcGordon A. The History of Peter the Great, Emperor of Russia: To which is Prefixed a Short General History of the Country from the Rise of that Monarchy: and an Account of the Author's Life, Volume 1. Aberdeen. 1755. pp. 197–202
^ abLiljegren, B., 2000. Karl XII: En Biografi. p 395.
battle, gemauerthof, battle, great, northern, fought, south, riga, near, jelgava, present, latvia, july, 1705, swedish, forces, under, adam, ludwig, lewenhaupt, fought, russian, army, under, boris, sheremetyev, swedes, were, victorious, victory, only, symbolic. The Battle of Gemauerthof was a battle in the Great Northern War fought south of Riga near Jelgava in present day Latvia in July 1705 The Swedish forces under Adam Ludwig Lewenhaupt fought a Russian army under Boris Sheremetyev The Swedes were victorious but the victory was only symbolic In August the Russians conquered Courland 4 Battle of GemauerthofPart of the Great Northern WarThe Battle of Gemauerthof engraving from the Johann Christoph Brotze s collection DateJuly 15 1705 O S July 16 1705 Swedish calendar July 26 1705 N S 1 LocationGemauerthof Duchy of Courland and Semigallia now Murmuiza Vilce Parish Jelgava Municipality Latvia ResultSwedish victoryBelligerentsSwedish EmpireTsardom of RussiaCommanders and leadersAdam Ludwig LewenhauptBoris SheremetyevStrength7 000 2 4 000 infantry 3 000 cavalry 17 regimental guns13 000 2 or 20 000 3 3 600 infantry 8 000 14 000 dragoon 2 000 irregular 16 artillery piecesCasualties and losses1 900 2 900 killed 1 000 wounded5 000 2 3 2 000 killed 2 000 3 000 wounded 400 captured Contents 1 Battle 2 Aftermath 3 See also 4 ReferencesBattle EditThe Swedes exhausted after forced marching went to camp and were cooking supper when the news came of a large Russian army 4 with 16 artillery pieces nearby The Swedes who themselves had 17 artillery pieces 2 quickly deployed into battle formation and encouraged by General Lewenhaupt attacked the Russians Although suffering severe setbacks on their right flank the assault continued On the left the Swedish cavalry charged and broke the Russians The infantry in the centre fired carefully at point blank range and then charged pushing their foes back in disorder The battle ended in a confused melee which was eventually won by the Swedes The Russian cavalry withdrew while the infantry was destroyed by a combined arms assault Aftermath EditField Marshal Sheremetev had received a shot in the abdomen and General Baur was wounded in the thigh Over 5 000 Russians were killed or wounded 2 3 When the defeated army reached Vilna the Tsar surveyed his newly formed 60 000 men The tsar Peter the Great was far from reprimanding the field marshal for this defeat He realized that it was possible to lose a battle against the Swedes despite being three times superior And since he could raise a new army at any time some of which were compulsorily recruited farmers and Livonian expellees he knew that the campaign against the Swedes could be won Peter the Great called this defeat a minor misfortune of no great significance even in his diaries he mentions the battle only in passing He hid the real losses from his own troops and marched with his newly formed army towards Livonia to finally defeat the Swedes The losses of the Swedes were given as 900 dead and over 1 000 wounded 2 In addition several high ranking officers were killed or seriously wounded in action Therefore it was not possible for the Swedes to pursue the Russian army See also EditCampaign of GrodnoReferences EditAlf Aberg amp Gote Goransson Karoliner p 114 115 Peter Ullgren Det stora nordiska kriget 1700 1721 2008 Stockholm Prisma p 128 ISBN 978 91 518 5107 5 a b c d e f g The Battle of Gemauerthof 16 July 1705 H E Uddgren Karolinska Forbundets Arsbok 1913 Translated by Dan Schorr a b c Gordon A The History of Peter the Great Emperor of Russia To which is Prefixed a Short General History of the Country from the Rise of that Monarchy and an Account of the Author s Life Volume 1 Aberdeen 1755 pp 197 202 a b Liljegren B 2000 Karl XII En Biografi p 395 Coordinates 56 26 04 N 23 31 31 E 56 43444 N 23 52528 E 56 43444 23 52528 This article about a battle in Swedish history is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte This article about a battle in Russian history is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte This Latvian history related article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Battle of Gemauerthof amp oldid 1102243411, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
